Optical fibre sensors have a number of advantages over conventional electrical strain gauges. The most significant advantages are that they: are immune to electromagnetic fields; have the ability to take many measurement points along a single fibre - greatly improving the ease at which sensors can be multiplexed; can be embedded within or bonded to structures without the risk of de-bonding during operation.

Several different optical sensing techniques have found their way into the marketplace but fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) are commercially one of the most successful. The applications areas are very wide - covering wind turbine performance monitoring, oil and gas exploration, bridge and tunnel monitoring, other structural monitoring, marine defence and health.

Data in the portal is gathered with minimum editing from many sources. As a result there can be significant variations in how people describe themselves and their organisations' capabilities. Care is therefore advised when searching to produce fully inclusive results. Our hints and tips will help, as will our example queries.